Righteous Obsession (62 page)

“No.  Why?”

“I thought we could stop over at my grandparents’ for
awhile.  As I told Jeff I wasn’t exactly Mr. Friendly when mom took me over
there.”

“It’s fine with me.”

Luke answered the door when they rang.  “Colin, it’s
nice to see you again. Please come in.”

Nora was coming in from the kitchen, coffee pot in
hand.  She quickly set it down as she saw Colin and asked, “How are you,
Colin?”

“Much better than the last time I was here.”

“Have you eaten yet?”  Luke asked.

Colin held up his hands.  “Mom had a reception for the
people who weren’t able to come to New Orleans for our wedding and we’re stuffed.” 
He drew Alethea to him. “I’d like you to meet my wife, Alethea.”

“It’s very nice to meet you, Alethea,” Nora said.
“This is my husband, Luke.”

“It’s wonderful to meet you, Alethea,” Luke said.  “I
don’t suppose you even have room for a dish of my homemade fudge, walnut ice
cream?”  He coaxed.

“Well, maybe I have just enough room for one dish,”
Colin decided.

“How about you, Alethea?”

She sighed.  “I shouldn’t, but I’m going to have a
dish.”  They sat down at the dining room table.  Nora poured them coffee while
Luke got the ice cream.

“Yum!”  Alethea exclaimed after taking a bite.  “This
is delicious!”

“I second the motion!”  Colin said.

Nora couldn’t help herself and leaned over, clasped
Colin’s hand, giving it a squeeze.  “We’re so happy you and Jeff have settled
your differences.”

“I’m really glad he called me,” Colin replied.

“We’ve invited Caitlin and Jeff to spend Christmas
with us,” Alethea said.  “But he said with things being the way they are he
couldn’t make any definite plans.”

“We all seem to want to believe that things will work
out and everything will be all right,” Nora replied.  “Sometimes I think we’re
deluding ourselves tremendously.”

“Nora and I are hoping once things are finally settled
we can convince Jeff and Caitlin to move here.  I’m sure Jeff could find a job
easily and Caitlin could finish school at San Francisco State or Berkeley.”

“What’s Jeff’s line of work?  I don’t think he told me
and I don’t recall Caitlin mentioning it,” Colin asked.

“He’s an investment broker for IDS Financial
Services™,” Nora replied.  “I’m sure he’d have no trouble finding a job out
here.”  She sighed again.  “We think about Jeff and Caitlin every day.  They’re
all alone and they have nobody close by they can turn to for support.”

“Well, now they have Colin and I as well as you two. 
They can call any of us at any time,” Alethea said.

“I told Nora that, but she worries.”  He smiled at his
wife. 

Colin’s expression suddenly turned serious.  “I’ve wanted
to ask you about something you said when I was here with mom.”

“What was that?”

“Remember when you told mom you and grandpa contacted
Grandpa and Grandma Scott, trying to find mom and me?”

“Yes?”

“What were you planning to do if you’d found us?”

“What do you mean, Colin?”  Luke asked.

“Well, you weren’t going to try and take me away from
mom, were you?”

“Heavens no!”  Nora appeared plainly shocked by
Colin’s question.  “We felt so guilty about what Jeff had done and we were very
concerned Amanda might be having a hard time by herself with a new baby.  We wanted
to tell her she was welcome to stay with us for as long as she needed or wanted
to stay.”

“Thank you for being honest with me.”

They stayed a bit longer and then said goodbye,
promising to stop by again.

“They seem very nice,” Alethea said.

“Yes, they do,” Colin replied.  “But I’m just not
ready to open up to them quite yet.”

He pulled into the driveway and the motion-sensor
lights came on, lighting the entire front yard.  “Now that’s more like it!” 
Colin remarked.  After locking up and activating the security alarm he
activated his cell phone and saw he had a voicemail message.

“I’m going to bed,” Alethea said with a yawn.  “Are
you coming?”

“I’m going to call Jazz back before I go to bed.”  He
called Jazz then shut off the lights and went upstairs.  He noticed Alethea’s
bedside lamp was off and she appeared to be asleep.  He undressed and got into
bed.  He touched her arm.  “Alethea?”

She rolled over on her back.  “What?”

“Jazz said he would be hosting the Headbanger’s Ball
on MTV this week and wants me to co-host.  I told him he should really tap Mace
or Jake for that, but he insisted.”

“Are you going to do it?”

“I told him I would, but it means we won’t be able to
get much packing done.  I was thinking I’ll ask Liam to come along and give us
a hand.  You can tell us what you want us to pack before you leave for your
interview.”

“Not my clothes, dishes or glassware, please,” She
murmured.

“No,” Colin chuckled.  “We’ll leave those for you.”

“Are we driving or flying?”

“I figured we’d fly down, rent a 4x4, and drive it
back.”

“Good.  Some things I want to take back myself.”

“When are the rest of your things supposed to arrive?”

“The movers promised me by Monday or Tuesday at the
latest of next week.”

“We’ll have to decide what to keep of my furniture and
what to put in storage before we leave on Friday.”

“I want to paint those three rooms, too.”

“We can do that on Tuesday.”

“It’s going to be a hectic week for us,” Alethea
predicted.

The builder came early on Monday.  He studied the
blueprint of the house and the plans for the new addition then toured the
house, inside and outside.  After much discussion, he and Colin came to a fair
price that included the cost of labor and materials.  He and Alethea spent the
rest of the day, deciding which of his furniture to keep and what to store. 
Colin and McGregor loaded the furniture that hadn’t made the cut into a rental
truck and took it to storage.  That evening they had supper at Grandpa and
Grandma Scott’s home.  Colin knew his grandmother had every intention of
continuing her denunciation of Jeff so he decided to head her off before she
could work up a head of steam.

“Grandma, I know you don’t like Jeff because he ran
out on mom, but if he hadn’t, he and mom probably would’ve muddled along in a
miserable marriage until I was old enough to leave home.  When he left, he
freed mom to marry the man she really loved and who’s been a great father to
me.”

“Then why do you want to endanger everything by
bringing him back into our lives?  Everything he comes in contact with turns
into a disaster!  Why, look at his family!”

“Come on, Grandma, be fair!  He’s not to blame for the
things they did.  They’re adults and they made their own decisions.  I’ve
talked with mom and dad about this and they’re okay with it.”  He got up from
the table and gave them a hug.  “Don’t worry so much, okay?”

While Colin was seeing Doctor Hughes on Tuesday,
Alethea went shopping.  When she returned to pick him up he could see her
visible excitement.  “You look ready to burst!  What’s up?”

“Colin, I found the most beautiful antique dining room
set!  I also found a beautiful crystal chandelier for the dining room and a
Victorian-looking ceiling light for the living room!”

“Let’s go have a look at them.”  They returned to the
antique store and Alethea showed him what she’d found.  As Colin pulled out his
debit card he joked, “You know you’re going to have to call an electrician for
those lights.  I’m afraid you didn’t marry Mr. Fix-it!”  He paid extra to have
them store their purchases until they finished the pool house.

On their way home they stopped at a paint store and
purchased several gallons of paint, specially mixed, and two power rollers plus
accessories.  They opened the windows and started in painting immediately after
lunch.  It took about three hours to change the dining room to a mellow ivory
cream and the living room to a softer peach color.

“It looks much warmer in here now,” Colin commented
looking around. Before they began painting the master bedroom, he challenged
Alethea to a race.

“Sure!  I’ll beat you easily!”  She declared, climbing
up on the ladder.

“Yeah?  What makes you think so?”  He asked as he
opened the balcony door and the windows.

“You’ll be too busy watching my ass to paint – that’s
how I know!”  She teased him.

Colin grinned lasciviously.  “Well, you definitely do
have an ass worth watching!”  It took them under an hour to transform the
master bedroom from white to eggshell.  They sat out on the balcony afterwards,
catching their breaths.  “This house is starting to look like a home instead of
just some place I inhabit,” Colin remarked, putting his arm around Alethea.

“I’m glad the previous owners didn’t paint over all
the woodwork like in the kitchen or this job would have been a lot harder and
taken a lot longer.”  They cleaned up, took the leftover paint and the painting
equipment out to the garage.

“How long do you think it will take to finish the pool
house?”  Alethea asked.

“I’d guess about three months, but there’s going to be
a lot of noise and dirt flying around here in the meantime.”

“That’s why I wanted to get this done before they
start digging the pool.”  They walked back inside.  Colin sniffed and shook his
head.  “I think we’re going to have to leave the windows open all night.”

“We won’t be able to put the alarm on either and Buck
won’t like that,” Alethea remarked.

They had supper on the deck and since it was a mild
night, they spent the reminder of the evening sitting outside.  When McGregor
came by he wasn’t pleased to hear the windows would have to remain open.  He
scratched his jaw.  “Well, I guess I could bring my sleeping bag up and sleep
in the living room.”

“Whatever you think is best is okay with me,” Colin
replied.

The next morning Colin and Alethea were up early and
with McGregor’s help, they drained the waterbed, moved it and the rest of the
bedroom furniture into the master bedroom.  Colin began the process of
refilling the waterbed.

“I’m leaving now, Colin,” McGregor said.  “Give me a
call if you need anything else.”

“Can you help me move my entertainment center into the
living room tomorrow?”

“Sure.  I’ll be by about ten, okay?”

“Great!  Thanks for the extra security last night and
for helping with this today.”

“No problem.”

Alethea came into the room, carrying things to put
back into her cedar chest.  “I’m going upstairs, check my e-mail and do some
preparation for my Centaur interview.”

“Okay.”  After she left he checked the waterbed then
called Jeff.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Caitlin!  It’s Colin.”

“Hi, Colin!  What’s going on?”

“I’m calling to tell you I’m going to be co-hosting
MTV’s Headbanger’s Ball Saturday night with Jazz.”

“We’ll be sure and watch it.”  Caitlin paused then
continued,  “Colin, I want to tell you how much we appreciate what you said on
CNN – not only about the letters and phone calls, but what you didn’t say about
daddy.”

“Well, I didn’t see any point in digging up the past. 
Have the letters and phone calls stopped?”

“Yes, we haven’t gotten any letters or calls for a
couple of days now.”  She sighed.  “Listen, Colin I wish I could talk longer,
but I’ve got to get to class.  I’ll tell daddy you called.”

“Tell him we won’t be home tonight, but we will be
home all day tomorrow if he wants to call us.”

“I’ll be sure and let him know.  Tell Alethea I said,
hi?”

“I will,” Colin promised.  They said goodbye and Colin
checked the waterbed.  He decided it was full to its capacity and shut off the
water.  He disconnected the hose, added conditioner, burped it, and put the cap
on. He plugged it into the outlet and set the thermostat.  His cell rang just
as he finished.  “Hello?”

“Colin?  Cait said you called.”

“Yeah, I just wanted to let you know about MTV.”

“She mentioned that.  I think she’s already marked it
on the calendar so we won’t forget.  How are you doing?”

“Pretty good, I haven’t had any nightmares since I’ve
started therapy.”

“I’m glad it’s helping you cope.  How’s Alethea?”

“She’s fine, too.”  Colin wondered briefly if Jeff was
trying to find out, in a roundabout way, whether she was pregnant.  God knows;
his grandmother certainly hadn’t been shy about asking!

“Will you give her my love?”

“I will.  She’s got an interview with Centaur on
Friday.”

Jeff chuckled.  “Cait just bought their new CD and
she’s playing it constantly!  I’m beginning to hear it in my sleep!”

“Teenagers!”  Colin laughed.

“Colin, I want to thank you for the things you said
and didn’t say in your interview.”

“Caitlin told me the letters and phone calls have
stopped.  Please let me know immediately if they start again.”

“I will.”

“As to that other matter, I really don’t see any point
in continually digging up the past.  Grandma and Grandpa Scott weren’t too
pleased with what I said.  They’re very opinionated, to say the least, but they
shouldn’t hold a grudge against you for something you did when you were younger
than Liam.”

“I really can’t blame them for they’re hard feelings. 
They didn’t trust me from the first and I never tried to change their opinion
of me.  If the truth be known, I did everything possible to worsen it.”

“Well, at that age, you don’t think much past the next
day.  I know I didn’t,” Colin admitted.  “I guess I’d better let you get back
to work.  Grandma says you’re an investment broker.  Mom never mentioned what
your college major was so I didn’t know.”

“Probably because when we were married the only thing
I was interested in majoring in was the next party.  Amanda, however, always
knew exactly what she was going to do with her life.”

“Knowing how my grandmother’s always been, that isn’t
surprising!”  Colin replied, chuckling.  “By the way, mom asked me to tell you
she accepts your apology.”

“I’m glad because I don’t want to be at odds with your
mother and make you feel as if you have to choose sides.”

“I appreciate that.”

“How is your mother?”

“Fine.  Busy as usual.”  They talked for a few minutes
longer than said goodbye.  Colin coiled up the hose and took it outside to the
garage.  He came back inside and went upstairs to the office.

Alethea looked up as he came in.  “Is the waterbed
filled?”

“Yes.”  He sat down on the couch.  “I talked to Jeff
and Caitlin.  They said to say, hi, for them and give you their love.”

“That’s nice of them.  Did they say anything about
your interview?”

“They both said they appreciated what I said about the
phone calls and the letters and what I didn’t say about Jeff.”

“Have those crank calls and letter stopped?”

“Caitlin said they stopped within a couple of days of
the broadcast.  I told Jeff to let me know right away if they start again.”

She smiled.  “It sounds like thing are working out
well with you and Jeff.”

Colin shrugged.  “Yeah, but I’m just taking it one day
at a time.”

They had supper with Beth and Roger Matthews that
night.  They lived in a big, roomy house in Berkeley that was close to the
University.  When Colin got out of the Jeep he looked around him and then
remarked.  “It’s kind of disconcerting to realize the entire neighborhood knows
what you look like naked!”

Supper, as usual, was delicious.  After they ate,
Colin’s grandparents presented Colin and Alethea with their wedding gift, a beautiful
Victorian comforter.  They went back into the living room and Grandma Beth
showed Alethea the scrapbooks she had of Colin’s early career.  As they were
driving back to Sausalito, Colin chuckled again.  “You know, if any media
person ever wants to know anything about my early career, I think I’ll refer
them to grandma.”  When they got home they made up their waterbed with the new
comforter.

“Once I get this room completely finished, you won’t
even recognize it,” Alethea declared enthusiastically.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

The next morning while Alethea went to her appointment
with Doctor Hughes, Colin and McGregor moved his entertainment center from the
dining room into the living room.  Colin turned it on.  “All right, CNN!” 
Colin cheered then joked, “I was about to start having withdrawal pains!”

“What time are we leaving tomorrow?”  McGregor asked.

“Is seven-thirty okay for you?”

He groaned, but said, “Okay.  I’ll see you then.”

Alethea was packing a suitcase for Los Angeles when
the phone rang.  Colin answered it.

“Hello?  Hi, Deb!  What’s up?”  He listened for a
moment then said, “He did?  See, I told you he would!  No, she’s right here. 
Just a minute.”  He handed the phone to Alethea.  “It’s Deb.  She wants to ask
you something.”

Alethea took the phone from him.  “Hi, Deb!  What can
I do for you?”  She listened for several minutes then replied, “Sure, I’d be
glad to help you.  We’ll probably be seeing you on Saturday so we can talk more
about it then.  Okay.  Bye, Deb.”

“I’m glad Cody asked Deb to the dance,” Colin
remarked.

“She asked me if I could help her with her hair and
make-up.  I told her I would.”

“She thinks a lot of you,” Colin commented.  He picked
up his copy of The San Francisco Examiner and continued reading it.

“Well, I hope everything goes okay for her and Cody
doesn’t turn out to be a jerk!”  Alethea said.  She carefully folded the
clothes he was going to wear on the Headbangers’s Ball
and put them into
the suitcase.  “You know, I think you look incredibly sexy in these black
jeans!”  She sat down beside him.  “Of course, I think you look incredibly sexy
without them, too!”

Colin tossed the paper aside and laid his glasses on
the nightstand.  “Why don’t we leave the rest of the packing until morning?” 
He suggested as he worked his way down the row of buttons on the front of her
dress.

“I thought you wanted to get an early start?”  She
teased as he pulled her dress off her shoulders and began kissing her neck.

“Well, since we’re obviously going to bed earlier than
usual …”